Snow

"There is no reason for you to be on the roads today. Please stay home." I stare at the middle-aged man on the TV screen. Even though I can barely look at him without laughing, I am taking what he says seriously. Because as I stare at him on Pittsburgh's local news station on this Saturday morning, I can only see snow out of my friend's apartment windows. Her garage is hidden under a layer of thick, snowy frosting, and the trees look like they have been slathered in Elmer's glue by an overzealous toddler, gobs of snow swaddling the branches.

It was all about the children, as the George Snow Scholarship Fund handed out $633,000 in scholarships to 85 students who just graduated from area high schools. The program looked like a high school yearbook at the 37th annual Awards Reception on June 5 at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club. Fund president Tim Snow introduced each recipient and presenters from that group, ranging from Rotary Clubs to scholarships named in memory of beloved individuals. Marleen Forkas stepped up to present the American Dream scholarship to Madison Jacobson of Boca Raton in her name and her late husband Harold.

Here’s one way to look at all the arctic air streaming over Florida: At least it’s not snowing here — yet. Every other state , however, including Hawaii, had some snow cover today, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (There were about seven inches of snow atop Mauna Kea , a dormant volcano and Hawaii’s highest point, NOAA said.) Indeed, all told, 69.4 percent of the contiguous U.S. is covered by snow as of today.

FAU basketball coach Michael Curry's coaching staff will feature a balance of NBA, college and prep-level success. Curry announced this week that Eric Snow, Charlemagne Gibbons and Robbie Laing will join him on the bench next season as assistant coaches, Ron Oliver will be FAU's Director of Basketball Operations and Jorge Sanz will remain on staff as FAU's video coordinator. Snow, 41, played 13 seasons as an NBA point guard with the Seattle SuperSonics, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, reaching the NBA Finals with each team.

It hasn't snowed in South Florida since 1977, but flurries will be falling in Hollywood's Arts Park at Young Circle during the city's tree lighting Friday. Two snow machines will spew out the flakes with special-effect blue lighting adding to the winter wonderland ambience. A 30-foot tree will stand amid the tropical palms, Santa will appear aboard a fire engine and a Hanukkah menorah and Kwanzaa display will round out the festivities. The merriment begins at 7 p.m.

As our nation's capital recovers from a massive blizzard, the problem of unregulated snow can no longer be ignored. It's time for Congress to set limits on the crystalline mayhem that's wreaking havoc on all hard-working Americans. Consider the facts. Snow is costly for taxpayers. Salting roads, even in a southern state like North Carolina, requires 29,000 tons of sodium chloride, costing $2.5 million. But the costs of snow removal are insignificant compared to the billions of dollars lost through decreased economic productivity.

Are we really in the same state? Because of a strong winter storm, the Florida Panhandle is forecast to see snow, ice and freezing rain Tuesday and Wednesday. About 500 miles away in South Florida, it should be mostly sunny and warm on Tuesday, but cloudy and warm on Wednesday. Although the same cold front is headed in this direction, it should do little more than lower temperatures into the low 60s on Wednesday and Thursday nights. It also is forecast to increase the chance of rain on those days.

Expect a cooler, drier and overall pleasant day, thanks to a weak cold front. Thursday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid to upper 50s. It's not much of a cool snap. Friday should be a few degrees warmer and by the weekend temperatures are forecast to climb into the low 80s. One thing is for sure: There's no snow in the forecast today - the 35th anniversary of the only time in recorded history that it did snow in South Florida.

From left, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Chief Tony Stravino and Santa Claus, aka Jerry Wilcox, are pictured in front of a mound of snow with three children at the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Deerfield Beach Fire Station #102 on Saturday. The snow is part of the seventh annual Depend On Us Foundation's Holiday Party which featured a petting zoo, bounce house, SWAT vehicle displays and a firehouse tour. The event, created by Deerfield Beach businessmen Wilcox and Shawn Ryan, not pictured, benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children's hospital.

South Florida's travel industry can smile when the snow piles up in the north. And it's about to pile up again. Hotels and resorts were already reporting strong bookings for this month and beyond as weary northerners long to trade their snow boots for flip-flops. More than 1.2 million travelers, including 10,000 to 12,000 college students, are expected to visit Broward County this spring and summer, spending more than $1.15 billion, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

We might be used to our friends and family up North hating us this time of year, but now the Sunshine State has one up even on Hawaii - along with all the other states. We have no snow. Anywhere. Not a single flake in the entire state. (At least, not the kind of flake that melts.) Even better for us, we've achieved this singular distinction as the Northeast is being pummeled by record snowfall this winter. This week brought the most intense storm of the season: More than 2 feet of snow showed up, and close to a foot in places like Georgia that are ill-equipped to deal with it. Hawaii's mountains are capped in white.

Yes, I know you are hoping for the blizzard from hell today. You want it precisely in the New York-New Jersey area, where National Football League hypocrisy is in full bloom. If the blizzard of biblical proportions starts about an hour before the Super Bowl, and lasts until about an hour after the game, many South Floridians will be rejoicing. A total disaster would be heartwarming. And I understand that feeling. South Florida didn't get a Super Bowl because we wouldn't pay for a roof on Sun Life Stadium after a few filthy rich people got tinkled on during the 2007 game.

Are we really in the same state? Because of a strong winter storm, the Florida Panhandle is forecast to see snow, ice and freezing rain Tuesday and Wednesday. About 500 miles away in South Florida, it should be mostly sunny and warm on Tuesday, but cloudy and warm on Wednesday. Although the same cold front is headed in this direction, it should do little more than lower temperatures into the low 60s on Wednesday and Thursday nights. It also is forecast to increase the chance of rain on those days.

"Good morning citizens! This is Radio Sochi, known as 'The Station With a Smile.' It's February 6th, 2014 - 60 F for you foreigners, but for us only 25C, which means it's colder than you think. As Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin says: I love Sochi! So you must also love Sochi! Perfect for Winter Olympics!" Google Sochi and you will learn that it's Russia's most famous resort on the Black Sea, and the foothills of the Caucass Mountains, home of Muslim regions such as Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Dagistan - yikes, home of the Boston Marathon bombers!

Christmas week in South Florida is starting as one of the warmest on record. The weekend warmth is very much continuing into the start of Monday. At 5 a.m. it was 77 in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Miami. Monday's forecast is for partly sunny conditions with a 20 percent chance of showers, winds from the southeast at 10 to 13 mph and high temperatures near 82. On Sunday, the likely warmest minimum temperatures ever for a Dec. 22 were recorded in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Miami between midnight and 7 a.m., said the National Weather Service.

Despite the fact that most northerners escape to Florida to avoid the snow, there is a group of children and families that look forward to playing and sledding in 30 tons of snow on Christmas Eve. The Journey Church of Boynton Beach , founded by pastor Scott Baugh nine years ago, has been having a white Christmas Eve for the past four years. Phillip Harrelson, executive pastor of the church, said, "I love Christmas and we wanted to celebrate the holiday in a big way. We believe in our message and so we make it as attractive as possible to get families here.

Expecting lots of families with children for their annual snow day Saturday, reserving a snow play time slot in advance is a first-time request for Sugar Sand Park's Piles of Smiles. The event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 21 will include a 16-ton snow pile, giant inflatable Polar Ice slide, bounce house, swing ride, winter make-and-take crafts and activities like the snow ball catapult and build an igloo. Florida Panthers hockey team will set up an interactive Party Patrol in which guests can play NHL video games and an 88-foot street hockey rink.